Grooved visor stiffener and headwear using the same

ABSTRACT

A grooved visor stiffener for headwear to be located in a visor portion of the headwear is disclosed. The stiffener has a plurality of grooves on at least one surface. Each groove has a sectional shape. The visor portion with the visor stiffener is capable of being changed to various shapes according to a wearer&#39;s preference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to headwear, and more specifically to a grooved visor stiffener and headwear using the same.

(b) Description of the Related Art

Caps including a visor portion extending from a crown portion are very popular. Preferably, the visor portion is typically made of a stiffened plastic material having a flat or curved configuration which is embedded in a fabric cover.

The conventional visor portion may be changed in its shape, but it cannot be retained in the changed shape, when a wearer wants to bend or stretch the visor portion in order to more effectively block the sun light or according to a wearer's preference.

A cap having a visor portion enabling a wearer of the cap to change the curve of the visor is disclosed in Korea Utility Model Registration No. 20-0282340. A thin metal sheet is attached to the visor of the cap, so that the wearer may change the curve of the visor by only bending the both sides of the visor up and down in a front view, and the curve may be retained. Since the thin metal sheet is attached between the fabric cover and the stiffened plastic material of the visor, it forms a raised portion on the visor, defiling the appearance of the cap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-described drawbacks of the conventional headwear and the visor portion.

An embodiment provides headwear having a grooved visor stiffener that allows a wearer to bend or change the shape of the visor portion freely to various shapes according to a wearer's preference.

In some embodiments, a grooved visor stiffener is provided which is capable of being changed and retained in the changed shape.

Some embodiments include a grooved visor stiffener which is applicable to various kinds of headwear.

As embodied and broadly described herein, a visor stiffener for headwear to be located on the interior side of a visor portion of the headwear may have a plurality of grooves on at least either surface of the top surface or the bottom surface thereof. Each groove may have a sectional shape selected from a group including, but not limited to a V-shaped section, a U-shaped section and a rectangular section.

The plurality of grooves may be formed on both a top surface and a bottom surface.

In some embodiments, at least a part of the plurality of grooves may be formed in the shape of straight lines which are substantially parallel or vertical to a front edge of the visor portion. Alternatively, at least a part of the plurality of grooves may be formed in the shape of straight lines which are oblique with respect to a front edge of the visor portion. Further, at least a part of the plurality of grooves may also be formed in the shape of curved lines.

Preferably, at least a part of the plurality of grooves may be crossed with one another.

In another embodiment, headwear has a head covering portion covering a head of a wearer and a visor portion projecting from the head covering portion. The visor portion has a visor stiffener having a plurality of grooves on at least one surface, for example, a top surface or a bottom surface thereof. A visor portion may be provided with a cover which is connected to the head covering portion and covers the stiffener.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings provide a further understanding of the invention, and together with the Detailed Description, explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a cap according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of a visor portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a top view of a visor stiffener;

FIG. 4 shows a bottom view of the stiffener of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the stiffener of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 shows a section view of the stiffener of FIG. 3 bending;

FIG. 7 shows a top view of another example of a stiffener;

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a hat according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 shows a top view of a stiffener which is used in the hat of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same elements herein.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, a cap 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a visor stiffener which enables a wearer to deform, change, restore or retain the shape of a visor portion.

The cap 10 has a crown portion 190 covering a head of a wearer, and a visor portion 100 projecting from the crown portion to block sunlight. The visor portion 100 has an upper cover 105 and a lower cover 106 on its top and bottom sides, and a visor stiffener 110 provided between the upper and lower covers 105 and 106. The upper and lower covers 105 and 106 are preferably made of woven, knit or synthetic resin. In some cases, it is possible that the upper and lower covers are made in one-piece.

The visor stiffener 110 functions to retain the shape of the visor portion 100 in order to block sunlight. The visor stiffener 110 has a predetermined thickness and a plurality of grooves on both of its top surface 120 and bottom surface 130 to easily bend or adjust the visor portion according to a wearer's preference. Each groove has a V-shaped section in the drawings, but it is possible to form each groove using a U-shaped section, a rectangular section or any other suitable shape.

An example of the visor stiffener 100 is shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. The visor stiffener 100 has a plurality of grooves 121 and 131 on its top surface 120 and its bottom surface 130, respectively. The plurality of grooves 121 on the top surface 120 may be formed in shape of a plurality of straight lines which are crossed to form lattices. At least some of the straight lines are substantially parallel with a front edge 140 of the visor stiffener 100. In addition, some of the lines are substantially perpendicular to the front edge 140 of the visor stiffener 100. The substantially parallel lines and the substantially perpendicular lines may intersect to form lattices. The plurality of grooves 131 on the bottom surface 130 are similar to the plurality of grooves 121 on the top surface 120.

It should be noted that the grooves may be formed on either surface of the top surface or bottom surface. In alternate embodiments, the plurality of grooves may be formed in straight lines which are oblique to a front edge of the visor portion. Further, the plurality of grooves may be formed in shape of various kinds of straight lines, curved lines or mixtures thereof according to the specific design of the visor stiffener. FIG. 7 shows another example of the visor stiffener with a plurality of grooves formed oblique to an edge of the visor which intersect to form a plurality of diamonds.

The visor stiffener 110 is made of a bendable molded material which can bend to conform to the curve of the visor portion 100 and retain the shape of the visor portion. Various suitable materials are known in the art, and may include polyethylene.

FIG. 6 shows a view of the visor stiffener 110 bending. When a wearer bends or deforms the visor portion 100 of the cap 10 into a desired shape, the visor stiffener 110 is bent and then retained in the desired shape. As shown in FIG. 6, when the visor stiffener 110 is bent downward, the grooves 121 on the top surface 120 widen while the grooves 131 on the bottom surface 131 become narrower. Thus, the visor portion 100 with the visor stiffener 110 having a plurality of grooves enables the wearer to bend the visor portion 100 freely into any desired shape in any direction, as well as to change the angle of the visor portion 100. When the grooves are formed with the crossed lines as illustrated in FIG. 3, 4, or 7, they may allow a wearer to easily adjust the visor portion. Therefore, the wearer may wear the cap 10 with various visor shapes according to her or his preference. Furthermore, the plurality of grooves weaken the restoring force of the visor stiffener material, so that the visor stiffener 110 can be retained in the bent shape.

Referring next to FIG. 8, a hat 20 according to another embodiment has a visor stiffener which enables a wearer to deform, change, restore or retain the shape of a visor portion.

The hat 20 has a crown portion 290 covering a head of a wearer, and a visor portion 200 which projects from the crown portion to block sunlight. The visor portion 200 has a planar ring-shaped visor stiffener 210 of FIG. 9 and a cover connected to the crown portion 290 for covering the stiffener 210.

The visor stiffener 210 is provided with a plurality of grooves 220 on at least one surface. The plurality of grooves 220 may be formed on a top surface and/or a bottom surface. The grooves 220 are preferably formed in concentric circles and radial straight lines which intersect with one another. It is also possible to form the plurality of grooves in various shapes having straight lines, curved lines or mixtures thereof according to the specific design of the visor stiffener.

Each groove has a sectional shape that is selected from a group including, but not limited to a V-shaped section, a U-shaped section, a rectangular section and any other suitable shape. As described above with respect to a cap 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2, the visor stiffener 210 is adapted to easily bend or adjust the visor portion 200 according to a wearer's preference.

When a wearer bends or deforms the visor portion 200 of the hat 20 into a desired shape, the visor stiffener 210 is bent and then retains the desired shape according to her or his preference.

The present invention provides a visor stiffener with a plurality of grooves so that a wearer may change the visor portion to various shapes according to the wearer's preference. Further, any raised portion is not seen from outside, resulting in a smooth appearance of the visor portion of the headwear.

Although the present invention is implemented as a cap or hat in the embodiments as describe above, the present invention may be applied to a visor cap, or any other various kinds of headwear having a visor portion, not being limited to a cap.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. An apparatus for use as headwear comprising: a head covering portion to cover a head of a wearer; and a visor portion connected to the head covering portion comprising a stiffener being formed of a single planar material having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the stiffener has a plurality of grooves on at least one of the top and bottom surfaces, and each of the grooves has a predetermined depth and a V-shaped section, a U-shaped section or a rectangular section, to thereby bend and retain the visor portion.
 2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of grooves are formed on both the top surface and the bottom surface.
 3. (canceled)
 4. An apparatus for use as headwear comprising: a head covering portion to cover a head of a wearer; and a visor portion connected to the head covering portion comprising a stiffener having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the stiffener has a plurality of grooves on at least one surface, and at least some of the plurality of grooves intersect with one another.
 5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the stiffener is made of a bendable molded material.
 6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the visor portion further comprises: a cover connected to the head covering portion to cover the stiffener.
 7. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the cover comprises an upper cover and a lower cover.
 8. An apparatus for use as headwear comprising: a head covering portion to cover a head of a wearer; and a visor portion connected to the head covering portion comprising a stiffener having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the stiffener has a plurality of grooves on at least one surface, and at least a part of the plurality of grooves are formed in straight lines which are substantially parallel to a front edge of the visor portion.
 9. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein at least a part of the plurality of grooves are formed in straight lines substantially perpendicular to a front edge of the visor portion.
 10. An apparatus for use as headwear comprising: a head covering portion to cover a head of a wearer; and a visor portion connected to the head covering portion comprising a stiffener having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the stiffener has a plurality of grooves on at least one surface, and at least a part of the plurality of grooves are formed in straight lines oblique to a front edge of the visor portion.
 11. A stiffener for headwear being formed of a single planar material, comprising: a top surface and a bottom surface; and a plurality of grooves on at least one of the top and bottom surfaces, wherein each groove has a predetermined depth and a V-shaped section, a U-shaped section or a rectangular section, to thereby the bend and retain visor portion.
 12. The stiffener as recited in claim 11, wherein the plurality of grooves are formed on both the top surface and the bottom surface.
 13. (canceled)
 14. The stiffener as recited in claim 11, wherein the stiffener is made of a bendable molded material.
 15. The stiffener as recited in claim 11, wherein each groove is formed as a straight line or a curved line.
 16. A stiffener for headwear, comprising: a top surface and a bottom surface; and a plurality of grooves on at least one surface, wherein at least a part of the plurality of grooves are straight lines which are substantially parallel with a front edge of the visor portion.
 17. The stiffener as recited in claim 11, wherein at least a part of the plurality of grooves are straight lines which are substantially perpendicular to a front edge of the visor portion.
 18. A stiffener for headwear, comprising: a top surface and a bottom surface; and a plurality of grooves on at least one surface, wherein at least a part of the plurality of grooves are straight lines which are oblique to a front edge of the visor portion.
 19. A stiffener for headwear, comprising: a top surface and a bottom surface; and a plurality of grooves on at least one surface, wherein the plurality of grooves comprises a first set of grooves and a second set of grooves, and wherein at least a portion of the first set of grooves intersects with at least a portion of the second set of grooves.
 20. A headwear, comprising: a visor comprising a stiffener being formed of a single planar material having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the stiffener has a plurality of grooves on at least one of the top and bottom surfaces to thereby bend and retain the visor. 